Sticky fruit labels may soon be things of the past thanks to a new EU ruling that allows grocers and retailers to make laser marks on the skin of citrus fruit, melons and pomegranates. Laser branding, previously banned because of the use of iron oxides and hydroxides, was approved after three years of liaising between the EU and Laser Food – the company behind the technology. The new law will come into effect on June 23rd.

The new ruling by the European Union will enable grocers and retailers to “tattoo” the skin of fruit with lasered marks that can contain barcodes and other information. Valencia-based Laser Food has been developing the technology since 2009 and, after years of liaising, was approved to use iron oxides and hydroxides. The technology will remove the need for paper, ink and glue commonly used in sticky labels. Suppliers would also be able to trace where their products are sold.

Jaime Sanfelix, managing director of Laser Food highlighted the fact that, with the new laser technology, consumers will be sure about the origin and quality of the product.

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3 Comments

english cheese manJune 20, 2013 at 6:48 pm

I’m not sure exactly how this is Green design though. Surely it’s more environmentally friendly to use a tiny amount of paper, than all the time, effort and energy to make sure a fruit is laser marked correctly.

msyinJune 20, 2013 at 3:12 pm

How will this affect composting? What did they replace the oxides with? How much will this new process raise the cost of the fruit for this new labeling process?